Odd Boss

Uploaded 08/10/2008

My name's Ted. I work full time in a factory welding and assembling car parts. My job is pretty boring, but the pay is good. Most of the guys in here are deadbeats, they do their job, then they go to a bar. They don't talk to anyone, no one talks to them. Of course I do have a few guys that I talk to and drink with. We all had one thing in common, the odd feeling about our boss, Steve Kerrill. All we knew about him was his name. Nothing personal like a wife or kids. I almost killed him last week. While I was sawing a piece of sheet metal, it randomly shot out and missed his head by no more then an inch. I guess he felt it whiz by his hair because he turned and looked at me with a blank look, I just smiled and waved. He tried firing me for bad behaviour, I got mad that the vending machine took my money so I hit the side of it. I never see Kerrill doing any real work, he barely talks. Everyday he comes into the factory at 12:30 and inspects all the workers. He always looks like he's up to something, with his hands locked behind his back. Some days he won't say a word, then just leaves. Nobody knows where he goes, and nobody cares. But I got a weird vibe from him. I ran into him at the department store the other day, he was holding a shovel and a roll of wire. He saw me from down the isle and stopped, staring at me blankly. The next day he approached me and watched me weld for a good 10 minutes. When I turned the machine off he told me he had to speak with me.I sat down in his office, he shut and locked the door, I got uncomfortable. "Why are you following me?" he asked. I thought to myself, what the hell? This guy is nuts. I told him i didn't know what he was talking about but he shushed me mid sentance. "If I ever catch you following me in public again, you will pay severe consequences."

He dissapeared for three days straight earlier this week. Nobody had seen him, and i don't think anybody had been looking for him. Yesterday, a ton of cops fled into the building, guns drawn. They were yelling a name. "John Riley, come out with your hands behind your head!" We all watched to see what happened. Kerrill crawled out of his office, I guess he had been hiding there. Cops arrested him and took him away. It turns out he was wanted for attempted murder in Saskatoon.

Now we've got a new boss, and a richer company. No more shitty machinery. But I always think back and wonder what Kerrill...or John Riley, his real name, would have done if I drove by him on the street or something. Oh well, he's in jail, for a long time.